Rip It Up And Start Again

27 March 2013 10:54

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The route to any finals is a hard one and Scotland just keep making it harder for themselves

John Collins, like most Scottish football fans, wants Scotland to be part of international finals again. He was involved the last time Scotland shared the world stage in France back in 1998 and was disappointed to see the chance of making it to Brazil for the finals in 2014 dashed by another paid of poor performances on Friday and Tuesday against Wales and Serbia respectively. New manager Gordon Strachan's side has the unwanted prize for being the first European Nation to have their 2014 fate sealed. Former international Collins admits there is just not enough quality in the Scottish game at the moment and believes work must begin now with the stars of the future.He said: "I'm bitterly disappointed, like all the players, coaches and supporters. The last thing we want is to be out of the tournament so early but we got off to such a bad start in the first two home games, where we couldn't get the win, and it puts the pressure on the manager, players and coaches straightaway. We are not good enough at this moment in time but we have to look further down the ladder at the younger players, that's where the real work has got to be done. It has started with the SFA and the performance schools with the 12-year-olds. That's where the work has got to start on a daily basis, working on the skill and the technical aspect of the game, that's where we are falling short. It's going to take time and patience. Nobody has got a magic wand. It's a lot of hard work at the grass-roots level that's got to be done."Asked if qualification for EURO2016 is a must, he said: "It's something everybody in the country wants but, as years go by, it becomes more difficult. Why? Because we were in pot four for this group stage and we are getting tougher groups now."